Lyme disease and relapsing fever are caused by spirochete pathogens in the genera Borrelia and Borreliella1,2,3. Lyme disease is a prominent vector-borne disease in North America, and, consequently, Borreliella burgdorferi is a prominent model organism to study spirochete biology4,5. Investigations into the B. burgdorferi mechanisms of transcriptional regulation aim to better understand its adaptations to changes in the environment as it cycles between its tick vector and mammalian hosts6,7. Changes in pH, temperature, osmolarity, nutrient availability, short-chain fatty acids, organic acids, and dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide levels modulate the expression of genes that are important for B. burgdorferi to survive in its arthropod vector and to infect animals8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18. Linking these responses to stimuli with regulatory mechanisms has been an important aspect of B. burgdorferi research19.
Transcription factors and sigma factors control the transcription of genes that carry out cellular processes. Lyme and relapsing fever spirochetes harbor a relatively sparse set of transcription factors and alternative sigma factors. Despite this, there are complex transcriptional changes directing B. burgdorferi responses to the environment20,21,22. The specific mechanisms driving transcriptional changes in B. burgdorferi in response to environmental changes remain unclear. In vitro transcription assays are powerful tools for employing a biochemical approach to assay the function and regulatory mechanisms of transcription factors and sigma factors23,24,25,26.
An in vitro transcription assay system using the B. burgdorferi RNA polymerase was recently established24. As bacteria often have unique cellular physiologies, RNA polymerases of different species and genera respond differently to enzyme purification, enzyme storage, and reaction buffer conditions27. B. burgdorferi is also genetically distant from the many bacterial species in which RNA polymerases have been studied20. Aspects of enzyme preparation such as lysis, wash, and elution buffer conditions, storage buffer, in vitro transcription reaction buffer, and the method of assay construction can all alter RNA polymerase activity. Herein, we provide a protocol for the purification of RNA polymerase and sigma factor RpoD, the production of linear double-stranded DNA template, and the construction of in vitro transcription assays to facilitate reproducibility between laboratories using this system. We detail an example reaction to demonstrate the linear range for RpoD-dependent transcription and discuss limitations and alternatives to this approach.